


Explosion

by Sagartolen



Series: Whumptober2019 collection [2]
Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Angst, Burns, Character Death, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Disintegration, Gen, Ghost Lewis (Mystery Skulls Animated), Post-Canon, Post-Hellbent (Mystery Skulls Animated), Whump, Whumptober 2019
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:26:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27185155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sagartolen/pseuds/Sagartolen
Summary: A year after Lewis returns the gang investigate a strange house..(Reposting of Whumptober2019 ficlets originally written for Tumblr.)
Relationships: Arthur & Lewis & Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated)
Series: Whumptober2019 collection [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1788607
Comments: 1
Kudos: 53





	Explosion

**Author's Note:**

> You can find my full list of Whumptober2019 stuff [here](https://pi-cat000.tumblr.com/post/188709822487/its-almost-halloween)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: 'Explosion' and 'Human Shield'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read the tumblr verson in the following posts found: [here](https://pi-cat000.tumblr.com/post/188384525322/whumptober-no12-dont-move) and [here](https://pi-cat000.tumblr.com/post/188122523177/whumptober-no4-human-shield)

...

This whole case had been off from start to finish. What had started as your run of the mill asshole pranking their older, more superstitious neighbours, had turned into something far more sinister. Lewis shares a worried glance with Vivi while they wait for Arthur to finish picking the rusty-looking lock baring them from the ‘abandoned’ house they were investigating. It is times like these that Lewis wishes phasing through solid objects was one of his ghost abilities. But alas, he is too powerful and solid, making up for the inability with a ridiculously high constitution and durability.

_Click_. The door swings open.

“Nice work Arthur,” Vivi nods, peering inside. Slowly, the three of them inch forward into the dimly lit entryway.

“So,” Arthur voice is overly loud in the silence, “To the basement?”

“Hold on. I’ll go first,” Lewis pushes himself to the front of the group. His six Deadbeats manifest around him, and he sends ahead to scout. When they return, it is with confirmation that the house is empty. A wave to Arthur and Vivi, and they all move forward.

Their most recent lead, the reason for them being here, had been a poorly transcribed note telling their client to meet in the basement of the delipidated building. Their client, the owner, had been renting it out to some mysterious man for a month now. Said man, Johnathan Smith- a fake name if ever he heard one-, had proceeded to terrorise the neighbourhood with sound recordings, lights and what was probably a mechanical drone. The creepy letter, not the first their client had received, was the last in a long line of weirdly targeted behaviour. It is putting him on edge. Never before had one of the crazies, the most common source of reported supernatural phenomena, displayed such an obsession with a client.

Every now and then he stops, waiting for Vivi as she examines bits of the building. 

“Well, no one’s lived in a while,” She concludes after pausing for the third time. 

“Really. What gave it away? Was it the petri-dish of mould growing on the ceiling?” Arthur jokes, pointing up. Lewis wishes the both of them would wait outside, but the idea had been vetoed on the basis that this man might have supernatural defences.

The basement is as empty as the rest of the house. A nasty black fungus is growing along the walls and ceiling. Both Arthur and Vivi shiver in unison, so it is probably cold as well.

“Hey, do you hear that?” Arthur calls from where he is investigating tools laid out on a chipped workers bench.

Vivi, she is poking at an old boiler, glances up, “No?”

“It sounds like beeping.”

Lewis floats forward till he is halfway between Arthur and Vivi, listening as well. It is faint, but he can just make out a steady _beep, beep, beep_. In a quick movement, Arthur pulls aside an old tarp which is piled up on the corner of the bench.

A metallic, rounded case is revealed. There is a timer on the front with bright red numbers. It beeps ominously, counting backwards from 10.

_9…8…7_

Lewis shares an expression of alarm with Arthur, he can see the same conclusion written across his face.

_6…_

“What is it?” Vivi turns, noting their sudden silence.

_5…_

“Shit,” Arthur is oddly calm, considering the circumstances, “I don’t think I can disarm this in time.”

_4…_

Lewis starts to move.

“No…" Arthur orders and Lewis hesitates, “Save Vivi.” He turns away, pulling at the mess of wires decorating the case.

_3…_

Horror and utter terror are familiar and unwelcome emotions. Lewis can’t make it to both of them in time. It is either Arthur or Vivi. _He can’t save them both!_

_2…_

Lewis lunges, scooping Vivi up. She’s closer. He sends his Deadbeats to Arthur despite knowing there was little they could do.

_1…_

He curls protectively around Vivi, covering them both in a cocoon of purple flame. Suddenly, a defining noise drowns out reality. Fire, hot and yellow, roars around him. Vivi yells Arthur’s name, but it’s lost in the chaos. The force of the explosion flings him back. His energy levels plummet like a rock. _No_. _He can’t dematerialise! Not yet!_

Amongst the complete and utter pandemonium, he feels the connection to two of his Deadbeats snap like frayed rope. The violent disconnection is like taking a speeding bullet to the soul.

An age goes by before the fire around him dissipates. Lewis releases Vivi, falling to his knees, struggling to keep himself corporal. The ash, all that is left of the house, is soft to touch. Somewhere in the background, car alarms are going off.

...

...

...

When Lewis and Arthur fall abruptly silent, it triggers warning bells in Vivi’s brain.

She turns from her examination of the old rusted boiler, glancing over to see the two of them frozen, visibly shocked. Lewis’s human face is twisted into one of horror, and Arthur’s got that resolute dementor he adopts when he is about to do something stupid. The combination sends fear straight to her heart like a sharp spike.

“No…Save Vivi,” Arthur orders, turning away from the two of them. She doesn’t even get the chance to argue - _excuse him, why was this Arthur’s decision?_ \- because Lewis is throwing himself towards her. The last she sees of Arthur is a frown of determination before yellow fire consumes his form.

Lewis reaches and wraps around her, shielding her as the room explodes outward. The air ripples with energy. Chunks of wood, metal, and brick come hurtling towards her and are deflected by a barrier of thick purple. Somewhere in amongst all the chaos, she must have called Arthur’s name. The words are ripped away, drowned out in the defining roar.

And, as suddenly as it comes, the noise and destruction end, leaving her ears ringing. Lewis immediately staggers and falls to the ground, his form flicking between human and ghost like an old television.

Bits of the remaining ceiling crack and fall in around them, kicking up dust and ash, all that is left of the basement. A wave of heat washes over her when Lewis’s protective fire fades away. The ground under them is hot, superheated by the explosion. _Her ears are still ringing._

There is no sign of Arthur. The basement is nothing but a crater of ash.

He’s just… _gone_. Vivi’s brain struggles to processes the information.

“Lewis,” She tries to say. She can’t hear her own voice over the buzzing in her ears. Lewis turns to her, he is holding a handful of ash. It sifts through the cracks in his fingers. Vivi doesn’t know if he’s talking or not because his skeletal face has no month or lips.

“We…need to…go.”

The building is caving in around them. If they don’t leave, they’ll be buried. Lewis struggles to stand, and Vivi grips his arm to help him up. The action is hard because Lewis’s whole form is fluctuating, fire guttering as he begins to dematerialise. _Not yet!_ She needs him to fly them out through the hole in the roof as the stairs are blocked by piles of brick. Lewis obviously realises this because, once he is on his feet, he steadies himself, reaching to pick her up.

However, just as he begins to float up, he hesitates, twisting suddenly to stare into the corner. He fixates on the spot where Arthur had last stood. A heavy wooden beam comes crashing down, forcing Vivi to lung sideways, dragging Lewis with her.

“Lewis!”

He must be talking because the ghost points like he is trying to explain something.

“I can’t hear…we need to go!”

Lewis stumbles up and around her, floating over the beam, reaching to the corner, digging into the dirt. Vivi scrambles to follow, wincing when she cuts her knee on an exposed nail. Dust showers down upon the two of them, catching in her lungs, making her cough. Lewis ignores the danger, continuing to dig in desperate motions.

“Lewis…He’s gone.”

She can’t hear it, but she feels her voice crack. Lewis shakes his head in denial. Several wet drops fall from her face to land in the dirt near Lewis’s crouched form, and she kneels to help. Maybe, this is okay. Behind her, a portion of the wall falls in. Perhaps this is the end for all of them. Vivi’s hands sink into the dirt, covering Lewis’s larger ones. The hot ash burns her skin.

Something cool brushes up against her fingertips, causing her to pause. Lewis feels it too and his movements grow more animated.

Suddenly, Lewis twists, shoving a bight pulsing object into her hand. She almost fumbles and drops it. For a second, Vivi thinks that Lewis has just handed her his anchor. But, it can’t be his anchor because she can see it floating in its place above Lewis’s chest. She stares with incomprehension between the two hearts. 

Lewis scoops her up, and air rushes past as she is lifted free of the basement, Lewis acting as a human shield to protect her from the crumbling building. The second heart pulses weakly in an oddly familiar way. A few additional tears splash down onto it.


End file.
